*******SPOILER ALERT********
The ending of Star Trek wraps up Nero’s attack on Earth and locks the Kelvin timeline into place. Kirk and Spock stop Nero’s drill over Earth, rescue Captain Pike, and force the fight back to the Narada. Then Spock uses the red matter aboard his Jellyfish ship to create the artificial black hole inside Nero’s vessel. That is the big plot resolution. The weapon Nero planned to use on planets ends up destroying his own ship instead.
The movie is also careful about the character beats. Kirk still offers Nero a chance to surrender before the black hole consumes the Narada, but Nero refuses, which closes the loop on his obsession with revenge. After that, the film finally lets the new crew lock into place. Pike recommends Kirk for captain, the Academy promotes him, and the Enterprise launches with this younger version of the classic bridge crew fully assembled.
The other big reveal is that old Spock’s arrival has permanently changed history. Vulcan is still destroyed. Kirk’s father is still dead. This is not a reset back to the original timeline. It is the Kelvin timeline becoming its own thing, which is exactly why the ending works. Abrams honors the old continuity, then earns real freedom for the new one.
Be the first to comment